1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to heat dissipating assemblies and, in particular, to a spring clip for holding a heat dissipating element in heat transfer relationship with a heat generating device such as an electronic chip or package.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various expedients have been proposed for dissipating heat from electronic devices. One conventional device is that wherein a pinned or finned heat sink is mounted to an electronic device or the socket therefor by means of a releasable spring clip. Such a device is shown, for example, in Blomquist U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,731. Hinshaw U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,884,331 and 4,879,891 are, for example, directed to the details of one form of pinned and finned heat sink.
Means for reliable, accurate and easy attachment of the spring clip to hold the assembly together had generally not been achieved by the prior expedients. Spring clips must be securely mounted to prevent the assembly from becoming dislodged and falling into the circuitry. Electronic devices must be removed and replaced from time to time so it is necessary that the heat dissipating assembly should be easy to remove and install without impairing its reliability or effectiveness. In general, the assembly, disassembly and reassembly of previous heat dissipating assemblies required the use of tools and the possession of some significant degree of skill. Misassembly was generally possible, resulting in malfunctioning units.
These and other difficulties of the prior art have been overcome according to the present invention.